IPL 2018: Suresh Raina Suffers out with injury, gets ruled out of Chennai Super Kings' next two matches

IPL 2018: Suresh Raina Suffers calf injury, gets ruled out of Chennai Super Kings' next two matches Suresh Raina of Chennai

 Indian cricketer Suresh Raina, who rejoined the Chennai Super Kings squad ahead of the start of the 2018 Indian Premier League season, has been ruled out of the next two matches with a calf injury.

CSK have won the opening two fixtures of IPL season 11, with all of them being nail-biters. With Raina now out from the next two matches against Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, it remains to be seen how the Chennai outfit overcome his absence.The news comes Kedar Jadhav had was ruled out of the entire season with a hamstring injury. It has also been learnt that Raina "suffered a calf injury" during their last encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

Raina, who has failed to fire in the first two matches for CSK, would likely get Murali Vijay open the innings and get Ambati Rayudu down the order even though the latter has been a good new-ball striker in the IPL.Faf du Plessis, the South Africa skipper, who is recovering from a finger injury and side strain, is likely to be drafted in the playing XI, while Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, N Jagadeesan and David Willey are some of the options for the next match against Punjab.

Chennai have had the best start to the new season, although a littler nervy one. After Dwayne Bravo's 30-ball 68 inspired them to a one-wicket win versus Mumbai, Sam Billings' quick-fire fifty helped the side to chase down a massive target of 203 against Kolkata most recently.

CSK Squad: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, David Willey, Dwayne Bravo. Karn Sharma, Shane Watson, Shardul Thakur, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Faf Du Plessis, Mark Wood, Sam Billings, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, Lungisani Ngidi, Asif K M, N Jagadeesan, Kanishk Seth, Monu Singh, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi

Can Sun Risers cope up without David Warner?

Into their sixth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) look a formidable unit after the 2018 IPL auction, despite having lost their banned skipper David Warner due to a ball-tampering scandal.

Warner, who admitted to pre-meditated ball tampering in the Cape Town Test against South Africa, was handed a 12-month ban by Cricket Australia and subsequently, the BCCI barred him from participating in the upcoming edition of the IPL, starting April 7. The absence of Warner, the highest run-getter in the 2017 edition, has no doubt come as a setback for the 2016 IPL champions and the onus is now on New Zealander Kane Williamson to steer the side to their second title. Despite warming the bench for a major part of the last edition, Williamson, with his experience of leading his national side, will need to instil the confidence in the side in the company of former skipper and opener Shikhar Dhawan, who also will be expected to shoulder more responsibility at the top of the order.

Among the two names to be retained by the Sunrisers before the auction along with Warner, is rightfully paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the top wicket-taker in both the 2016 and 2017 editions. Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan too is expected to tweak some magic again.

English power-hitter Alex Hales, who was named as Warner's replacement will be valuable at the top of the order with Dhawan while the inclusion of wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey, will bolster the middle order. Saha, who recently scored a century off 20 balls in club cricket, has the potential to turn around matches in a matter of few deliveries, while the lower order comprising all-rounders Yusuf Pathan, Carlos Brathwaite and Shakib Al Hasan can be handy options with the bat.

The support staff consisting of Tom Moody, V.V.S.Laxman, Muttiah Muralitharan also adds to their strength.

Squad: Kane Williamson (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan Arman, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Sandeep Sharma, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Billy Stanlake, Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, T. Natarajan, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Ricky Bhui, Sachin Baby, Tanmay Agarwal.

Great news for KKR fans : Lynn and Narine are back in Kolkata Knight Riders Net practice

A fit-again Chris Lynn was seen batting in full flow along with Sunil Narine as two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders geared up for the Indian Premier League with a practice match at the Eden Gardens.

Having recovered sufficiently from a dislocated shoulder suffered during the recent T20I tri-series against Australia, Lynn headed to training less than 24 hours after he joined along with veteran speedster Mitchell Johnson, who opted to rest.

Johnson's stocks have risen somewhat after an injury to Mitchell Starc has ruled the Aussie spearhead out of the tournament, forcing KKR to name named English medium pacer Tom Curran as the replacement.

Lynn's history of shoulder problems has led to the Queenslander practising at the nets back home with a specially-designed shoulder stabiliser that rugby league star Johnathan Thurston has given him.

"The docs and the physios are happy so that's all I can do Fingers crossed I can keep going in the right direction. I'm doing everything I can to get back out there, Lynn had told Cricket Australia.

Having reported for a suspect bowling action yet again in the Pakistan Super League last month, Narine bowled in tandem along with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla as the Knights sweated it out in the evening for more than three hours.

The team-think tank also paid special attention to the pitch as new skipper Dinesh Karthik along with chief coach Jacques Kallis and bowling coach Heath Streak spoke to former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly and pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee.

Renowned adventurer and explorer, Mike Horn, who's back with KKR, was also seen on the sidelines of their training session.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that KKR's star owner Shah Rukh Khan will come to cheer for their IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on April 8.

The Bollywood superstar is currently busy shooting for a movie in the USA and he's expected for the first match, a KKR official said.

IPL 2018: South African Spin Wizard Imran Tahir's preparation for CSK stint will make all Tamils proud

IPL 2018: South African Spin Wizard Imran Tahir's preparation for CSK stint will make all Tamils proud

The excitement around the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is palpable. The cash-rich tournament might be a good two months away at the moment but fans are tuned in already thanks to the action-packed auctions.

With new squads, new playing XIs, new captains, and new coaches, cricket fanatics can't wait for IPL 2018 to kick-off. And it isn't just the fans who are bracing themselves for the T20 extravaganza, the players, too, seem to be equally excited.

South Africa's Imran Tahir recently gave a glimpse of his preparation for IPL 11. It didn't have anything to do with the game of cricket, per se, but showed how much the ace leg-spinner is thinking about his near two-month stay in India from April.

Tahir will be representing the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who return along with the Rajasthan Royals after a two-year hiatus, in the upcoming IPL. The 38-year-old will join hands with the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and compatriot Faf du Plessis to try and give the 'Yellow Army' its past glory.


While representing the mighty CSK can be hard in itself, Tahir will have another challenge that he'll have to face head-on. And that, of course, is the test of communicating in the local language of Tamil.

As it turns out, the veteran is a step ahead in his preparation to master this challenge. Tahir shared a post on his official Twitter handle recently, where he introduced his followers to his Tamil teacher - Prasanna.

Imran Tahir (R) with his Tamil teacher Prasanna , Twitter

Tahir's guru is of Indian origin and also happens to be the Performance Analyst of the South African cricket team.

Meanwhile, Tahir will continue to share the IPL dressing room with Dhoni after spending the past two years with him at Rising Pune Supergiant. The duo is currently competing in a six-match ODI series in South Africa.

IPL 2018: KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS, RAJASTHAN ROYAL OPEN TO TIME CHANGE, BCCI MAY CONSIDER

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to take a favorable call on the proposed changes to the timings of the matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Some franchises have seen merit in the idea, supposedly mooted by Star, and are understood to have conveyed this to the regulators. Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals have made it clear that they are comfortable with the change of timings, if not necessarily for the overlap of the matches.

“Look they are proposing to advance the games by 30 minutes — 3.30 pm for the afternoon games and 7.30 pm for night games. We see nothing wrong there. An early finish is in everyone’s interest. In-stadia public can go home early. It would be safe for them too. We will have an issue if there is an overlap of the games,” Venky Mysore, the CEO of the Shah Rukh Khan owned Kolkata franchise, told Mirror.

The original proposal was to start the evening games at 5.30pm and night matches at 7 pm but in the face of some opposition from certain teams, there seems to be some adjustments in the proposals. The teams have been explained that the viewership of the matches in the evening declines by 25 per cent in the last hour as the average match duration is three hours 24 minutes. The matches, more often than not, end after 11 pm. It is further argued that it would be difficult for in-stadia fans to find transport back home in places like Delhi, Kolkata and smaller cities like Jaipur.

Agrees Ranjit Balthakur of Rajasthan Royals. “We would prefer an early finish. In Jaipur, people tend to sleep early. If there are no doubleheaders, we are comfortable. In fact I have suggested that on weekends, instead of evening games, we can have breakfast games,” the CEO of the Jaipur team said.

The BCCI has not come out with its policy but an argument has also been made that players reach hotels only by 1 am after finishing the post-match formalities. Given the busy travel schedule during the league, the players often take flight early in the morning after a late arrival at the hotel. Early starts can lead to extra rest time for the players, it has been argued.

The biggest deciding factor yet could be the sponsors, who apparently don't get appropriate exposure during the post-match presentation. The presentations happen around 11.30 pm, by when viewers, both inside the ground and of television, won’t be there in big numbers.

The BCCI and IPL officials were not immediately available but the authorities seem to be sensitive to the view that there is transport discomfort after 11.30 pm.

There is a chance that the timings will be tweaked so that the matches end by 10.30 pm, not 11.30 pm.

Production bid delayed

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that the bidding date for the production services of the IPL and domestic games has been postponed by a week.

The BCCI has informed the concerned parties that the bidding will now happen on February 19, instead of February 12.

#IPL2018 - This is how All 8 Teams stack up after 2 day IPL 2018 Auction - Complete Squads

The mega two-day Indian Premier 2018 auction is over. Across Saturday and Sunday, the eight franchisees assembled under one roof to rebuild their squad for the upcoming season of the cash-rich IPL.


England allrounder Ben Stokes was the costliest buy while Jaydev Unadkat turned out to be the most expensive India cricketer at the auction.

Here are the squads of the eight teams after the auction:


CHENNAI SUPER KINGS [25 players]MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo. Karn Sharma, Shane Watson, Shardul Thakur, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Faf Du Plessis, Mark Wood, Sam Billings, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, Lungisani Ngidi, Asif K M, N Jagadeesan, Kanishk Seth, Monu Singh, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi


DELHI DAREDEVILS [25 players]
Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, Glenn Maxwell, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammad Shami, Gautam Gambhir, Trent Boult, Colin Munro, Daniel Christian, Jason Roy, Naman Ojha, Prithvi Shaw, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Avesh Khan, Abhishek Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Harshal Patel, Manjot Kalra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sayan Ghosh

KINGS XI PUNJAB [21 players]Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Zadran, Ankit Singh Rajpoot, David Miller, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Singh Sran, Yuvraj Singh, Christopher Gayle, Ben Dwarshuis, Akshdeep Nath, Manoj Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Manzoor Dar, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar


KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS [19 players]Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Starc, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Singh Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Vijay Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi

MUMBAI INDIANS [25 players]Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Pat Cummins, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Cutting, Mustafizur Rahman, Rahul Chahar, Pradeep Sangwan, Jason Behrendorff, Jean-Paul Duminy, Saurabh Tiwary, Tajinder Dhillon, Akila Dhananjaya, Nidheesh M D Dinesan, Aditya Tare, Siddhesh Dinesh Lad, Mayank Markande, Sharad Lumba, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan

RAJASTHAN ROYALS [23 players]Steve Smith, Benjamin Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane, Darcy Short, Rahul Tripathi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Ben Laughlin, Stuart Binny, Dushmantha Chameera, Anureet Singh, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Midhun S, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Jatin Saxena, Ankit Sharma, Mahipal Lomror

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE [24 players]Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Brendon McCullum, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Quinton De Kock, Mohammed Siraj, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, M. Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Pavan Deshpande, Anirudha Ashok Joshi

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD [25 players]David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan Arman, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddarth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Kane Williamson, Carlos Brathwaite, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Jordan, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan, Sachin Baby, Bipul Sharma, Syed Mehdi Hasan, Ricky Bhui, Tanmay Agarwal

IPL auction 2018 highlights: Ben Stokes most expensive player at Rs 12.5 cr, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga unsold !

While Gautam Gambhir will be moving to Delhi Daredevils from KKR , Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga failed to find any takers. Here are the highlights from Day 1 of IPL 2018 auction.

IPL 2018 auction: Five uncapped Indian players who can hit jackpot #IPL2018

IPL 2018 auction: Five uncapped Indian players who can hit jackpot #IPL2018

An Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is a stage where the word ‘surprise’ is an understatement. We have seen relatively lesser known and uncapped players getting snapped by teams at astounding prices and this year will be no different.

Here we take a look at five uncapped Indian players who can hit jackpot in this auction:

Krunal Pandya – Krunal has established himself as an utility player in this format and was one of the important members of the triumphant Mumbai Indians team. Hardik Pandya’s brother scored 243 runs at an average of 34.71 in the last edition and also took two wickets. It is highly likely that Mumbai Indians will use the right to match option for him.

Prithvi Shaw – Although Shaw was unsold in the previous auction, few will bet on a repeat of a similar result this weekend. The captain of the Indian under-19 cricket team is expected to be on the radar of all the teams and everyone has taken note of his sterling performances in the Ranji Trophy and the ongoing U-19 World Cup.


Deepak Hooda – The big-hitting Hooda has represented Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous editions. He is also an off-spinner and was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for an astounding Rs 4.2 crore in 2016. Having played 41 matches, the Baroda man is an experienced customer in this tournament.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti – This teenage tearaway has generated quite a buzz in the ongoing U-19 World Cup with his speed and as fast bowlers are always in high demand in the T20 format, it won’t be a surprise if franchises go all out for him in the auction. There’s a good chance that Rajasthan Royals will go for him in the auction as he will also give the team a local connect.

Rajneesh Gurbani – The find of the Ranji season, Rajneesh was one of the main reasons behind Vidarbha's fairytale run. He finished the season as the second-highest wicket-taker with 39 wickets. A proven swing bowler in Indian conditions would appeal to many franchises and having tasted blood with Vidarbha, his winning mentality will also help him settle down quickly in the slam bang format.

IPL 2018 Auction : Date, time, player list, rules and format

IPL 2018 Auction : Date, time, player list, rules and format 

All you need to know about the 2018 IPL auction.

The 2018 VIVO IPL auction is around the corner and the franchises would have figured out on what their team needs ahead of the event. A total of 578 players including 360 Indians and 218 overseas players will go under the hammer in the auction. As many as 198 cricketers can be picked by all the eight teams in the auction. 

The franchisees have been allotted a purse of 80 crores INR for the auction. The money spent by them in retaining the players will come under the total purse and the franchisees can use the remaining money in the auction. Each team can have a maximum of 27 players out of which 9 can be overseas professionals.

IPL auction 2018 date: 27 and 28 January 2018 (Saturday and Sunday)

IPL auction 2018 venue: Ritz-Carlton, Bengaluru

IPL auction 2018 time: 9 AM IST

IPL 2019 in South Africa ??

IPL 2019 in South Africa ??

A decade after hosting the 2009 IPL, South Africa 

could be the destination for the T20 league 

once again.What's the story?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) could be heading 

for a new destination for its 12th edition next year. 

The T20 league is likely to be held in South Africa 

in 2019, with election dates in India expected 

to clash with the tournament dates next year.

In case you didn't know...

While the tournament is held in India every year, there 

have been instances in the past when the league had 

to be shifted out of the country for different reasons.

In 2009, South Africa had edged out England as the 

hosts of the tournament, with the tournament dates 

clashing with the general elections in India.

Deccan Chargers led by Australian Adam Gilchrist won the IPL 2009 held in South Africa

In 2014, the tournament was shifted out yet again, 

this time to UAE for the first two weeks, the reason 

being the Lok Sabha elections in April-May, the exact months

in which the league takes place.

The heart of the matter

While nothing has been decided as of yet, 

a report in The Times of India says that 

the BCCI is already discussing possibilities

 to move the tournament out of India next year,

with extensive elections scheduled to take 

place across the country.

Cricket South Africa, already reeling under the

effects of the postponement of their own brainchild, 

the Global T20 League, could use IPL as a means 

to showcase their hosting prowess, just 

like they did in 2009.

What's next?

While there is still time for the BCCI to 

fix the schedule for next year, all eyes 

will shift to the IPL's 11th season, 

set to be held from April 4 to May 27 

this year. Fresh auctions towards 

the end of January are adding to 

the interest in this season of the league.

Author's take

IPL 2019 is set to pose a headache for 

the BCCI: firstly, the 2019 World Cup 

is already slotted to take place from 

May end to mid-July, and according to 

the Lodha recommendations, a 15-day 

window has to be maintained between 

the 50-over tournament and the IPL.

Also, South Africa, the replacement 

hosts, have their own elections in 

2019, which could give another 

reason for the IPL to be moved 

ahead to a March-April scheduling.

By : Sportskeeda 

IPL 2017 final: Proverbial David vs Goliath battle

At the start of the season, even the wildest of Rising Pune Supergiant fans could have predicted that their team would be fighting for the team. 

After a horrific debut season, Supergiant had a shake-up in the team roster and the most visible was that of the leader. 

The team management placed their faith on Australian Steve Smith and Dhoni probably had to endure the biggest blow in his career. 

Neutral cricket lovers would love to see Pune win simply because any underdog team triumphing in a league adds to the aura of the tournament. 

Mumbai Indians have done it before and were favourites to reach this stage before the start of the tournament. But Supergiant have shown earlier that if one team can be its hoodoo, it is Rising Pune Supergiant. 

IPL 2017 final : Mumbai Indians' think tank and their strategy helping MI to be in the Final

The last ball of the second Indian Premier League 2017 qualifier between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders pretty much summed up the fixture. It was a short ball, outside off, Krunal Pandya gave himself room, looking to slash it but got a top edge that went flying towards the third man area. Nathan Coulter-Nile rushed across to his right to catch it, but only managed to get his finger tips to the white object and the ball touched the boundary ropes to end Kolkata Knight Rider’s campaign. Mumbai Indians made bold decisions, stuck to it while KKR despite having plans couldn’t quite execute them. They were sloppy and, dare I say, tired.

After putting up a lacklustre performance and making some strange calls against Rising Pune Supergiant in the Eliminator, Mumbai bounced back in the second Qualifier to storm into the final. However, the tactics were still the same. Harbhajan Singh, once again, couldn’t find a place in the playing XI as Karn Sharma got another go. It was a brave move to back Karn’s wicket taking abilities than Harbhajan’s experience in big matches, but it paid off. The idea was simple, have a bowler who could dismiss batsmen in the middle overs, a trait which Harbhajan and both the Pandya brothers don’t offer to Mumbai’s captain Rohit Sharma.

Mahela Jayawardene has done a great job as Head coach of Mumbai Indians. 
Not just this, Mumbai’s team management seemed to have a plan for each and every top order batsmen from KKR. There were discussions whether Gautam Gambhir would come back to open with Chris Lynn in this important game. But KKR continued with their pinch-hitter Sunil Narine at the top.

Commentator Kevin Pietersen was gushing in Mitchell Johnson’s praise on air. He shared his experience of how intimidating it was to face the Australian pacer in the Big Bash League (BBL) and also revealed how he was excited to see a face off between Lynn and Johnson. He couldn’t have been happier after a top first over from ‘Mitch’. He varied his pace brilliantly and confused his compatriot with change in lengths, thereby managing to induce a top edge which fell in no man’s land. The work was done, neither was Lynn given anything to score off easily nor was he allowed to give the strike to Narine.

Mumbai have the best percentage of wickets (30.30) taken in the Powerplay in IPL 2017. So, when their strike bowler Mitchell McClenaghan sat out due to injury, they decided to toss the new ball to Jasprit Bumrah for the first time in this season and he delivered as Lynn holed out to Kieron Pollard at long on.

The responsibility to provide an explosive start was passed onto Narine. Teams that have been successful against the West Indian have cramped him for room and Mumbai’s bowlers did no different. Stump-to-stump lines ensured that he couldn’t swing his arms freely. The only delivery where he scored a boundary was an overpitched one around middle, which he could flick powerfully over the deep square leg fence. The bowlers forced the southpaw to take risks and when he did take one, he was stumped off Karn’s bowling.

As meticulous Mumbai’s strategy was against every batsman, the execution was just as perfect. That Gambhir has a habit of poking at balls that are in the fourth stump line is a well-known fact, but the way the bowlers persisted with that strategy against the tournament’s second highest run-scorer frustrated him. The dot balls had accumulated and to add to their woes, Bumrah had bowled the fifth over of the innings and trapped Robin Uthappa LBW. KKR’s score at the end of six overs was 25/3.

With no Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan (he was dropped), Gambhir knew he had to make a move, so he did and played a lovely inside out drive over covers off Karn’s first ball after PowerPlay to fetch a boundary. The southpaw, perhaps feeling a bit comfortable against the spinner, went for a sweep shot only to find Hardik Pandya in the deep. Gambhir departed for a 15-ball-12-run knock.  A plot which was begun by the fast bowlers was ended by a spinner. The next ball Karn, who had a forgettable 2016 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, bowled a googly first up to Colin de Grandhomme and handed him a golden duck. The seventh over had just finished and KKR had lost half their side. Karn had repaid the faith the backroom staff had put in him and was on a hat-trick. The night hadn't even begun properly but the end was lurking around KKR.

Suryakumar Yadav, who was having a poor season thus far, and Ishank Jaggi, featuring in his second game of IPL 2017, were at the crease. Both the batsmen batted cautiously, showed solidity but made sure that they put the bad balls away. They forged a 50-run stand and looked set to up the ante when Rohit decided to go back to his wicket-taking leggie. Karn’s dream match continued, he broke the partnership, as Jaggi was caught by Mitchell Johnson at long on, and recorded his best bowling figures (4-0-16-4) in IPL. The rest of the Kolkata innings ended like a flash. They were skittled out for 107, a total that was never going to be challenging. But remember, this team had bowled out Royal Challengers Bangalore for 49 in a group match defending 132.  So the hope was still there for Kolkata fans.

Parthiv Patel was given the license to go after everything, at least it seemed so, as the Gujarat captain played some sumptuous shots before perishing for 14. Mumbai had lost two wickets in three overs, but Kolkata’s best bowlers – Narine and Coulter-Nile – hadn’t even bowled yet. Chawla castled Ambati Rayudu to make things even more interesting. One partnership was all that Mumbai required and Krunal Pandya was sent up the order.

                                                     Mahela as MI coach did a wonderful job.
                                                     pic : AFP

Krunal is a batsman who believes in scoring boundaries more than singles and twos. He did the same against Gambhir and Co in his 30-ball 45 run knock, he didn’t go through this method arbitrarily. He preferred safe shots, even while taking the aerial route he chose the gaps smartly. He scored runs all over the park at a strike rate of 150 on a pitch that was slow and where the ball was not coming onto the bat. He was well supported by Rohit who rotated the strike to ensure that dots don’t stack up. Though the Mumbai captain would be disappointed to end his innings with a needless shot. His side had got the partnership they needed to get over the mark.

Mumbai Indians are often mocked for having a star studded backroom staff, but in hindsight the planning is what separated both these sides. What if Kolkata had addressed that Gambhir’s average had dropped down to 19.40 since Lynn’s comeback. The Delhi batsman was struggling to get going in the period where fields were spread out and going back to open the innings could’ve turned things for him and his side. Would playing an out of form Yusuf had helped the side that had lost a solid batsman like Manish, considering his experience in the IPL? Or what if they had played Kuldeep Yadav in place of Ankit Rajpoot, given that the deck at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was somewhat assisting the spinners?  They will bid goodbye to this season with a lot of questions. Mumbai, on the other hand, will travel to Hyderabad for the final with smiles and a tinge of worry as their nemesis Rising Pune Supergiant ask them some new questions. But they will afford to take rest for a day as their team management search for the answers.

Smith's Supergiant demolish Kings XI Punjab to enter Playoffs

The Rising Pune Supergiant inflicted a crushing nine-wicket defeat over Kings XI Punjab to secure themselves a place in the Playoffs. Led by Shardul Thakur's 3 for 19, the Supergiant bowlers shot out KXIP for 73, and chased it without breaking a sweat with 48 balls to spare.

We break down the match in five

Wicket of the first ball

This was a virtual knockout, with the winner becoming the fourth and final team to secure a Playoff berth. Hence, a good start is what both sides desired. The first blood was drawn by Jaydev Unadkat, off the very first ball of the match. Martin Guptill, chasing a wide delivery, was out caught at covers. Wriddhiman Saha and Shaun Marsh survived a couple of close catches, and the initial spell from Unadkat and Shardul Thakur shifted the tide early in favour of the Supergiant. Unadkat in particular was nothing short of spectacular on the field. After his first-ball wicket, his terrific piece of fielding resulted in the run out of Eoin Morgan. That wasn't all. He then threw himself at short fine-leg to take a diving catch stunner that sent back Rahul Tewatia. In 5 overs, KXIP were 31/4.

Shardul triple floors KXIP

The Pune surface offered variable bounce, but still bowlers had to deliver. And Shardul Thakur took that mantle to strike three crucial blows. First, it was his wicket of Shaun Marsh, where the batsmen aired a drive and found his Aussie mate Smith at mid off. Smith could have taken him off after two overs, but instead persisted with Thakur. And in reply, the bowler responded to his skipper's call by removing Tewatia and Glenn Maxwell in three balls. While Tewatia fell to that brilliant catch from Unadkat, Maxwell clipped a fuller delivery off his legs straight down Ajinkya Rahane's throat at deep square leg. In three overs, Thakur had stellar figures of 3/14.

Christian, Zampa feast on KXIP batsmen

From 32/5 at the end of Powerplay, there wasn't much scope of restoring order. Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel tried doing so but it was always going to be a herculean effort. Saha had a pretty ordinary outing. After struggling for 16 balls, in which he scored 13 runs, the wicketkeeper edged Daniel Christian to MS Dhoni behind stumps. The former Supergiant captain, who had earlier spilled a tough chance latched on to this one for his 100th IPL catch. Christian removed Axar in his next over, leaving KXIP tottering at 62/7 and at a spot from where there just wasn't any coming back. The last three wickets could add just 11 more before being shot out for 73, their lowest IPL total and the third-lowest this season behind Royal Challengers Bangalore's 49 and Delhi Daredevils' 67 (that ironically came against KXIP).

Supergiant cruise in chase

A target of 74 was never going to make Supergiant sweat much, and openers Rahul Tripathi and Ajinkya Rahane ensured there weren't any early speed-bumps. The pair put on 41 patient runs for the opening wicket with Tripathi being the aggressor of the two, hitting four boundaries and a six over midwicket off Tewatia. Rahane seemed content biding his time and rotating the strike and was on 20 when Guptill dropped him at midwicket. KXIP however, did get a breakthrough as Axar cleaned up Tripathi but by then the equation had come down to 33 needed off 87, which Rahane and Smith achieved with 48 balls to spare. Rahane remained unbeaten on 34 with a four, and a six that he hit to score the winning runs.

Supergiant secure Playoff berth

After a dismal last season, the Supergiant joined Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders as the fourth team to make it to the Playoffs. With this dominant win, the Supergiant also finished second in the standings next to Mumbai, whom they now face them in Qualifier 1 - they've beaten Mumbai twice already this season. What was expected to be two teams batting hard and tough in this knockout, turned out to be a damp squib. KXIP lost wickets in heap, and the Supergiant got some throw downs ahead of their crucial Qualifier tie.

Injury scare !! - Coulter-Nile doubtful for Mumbai match

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile is doubtful for their last Indian Premier League (IPL) tie against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday. 

Coulter-Nile was not seen at practice on Friday. When asked about his update, bowling coach L. Balaji said: "It is up to the medical staff to decide so I will reserve my comment on that. Injury wise we are all safe." 

Coulter-Nile, who was injured during KKR's home game against Rising Pune Supergiant, has so far played six matches and has taken 11 wickets. 

Meanwhile, KKR vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav picked up a knock while training. Suryakumar, who is enduring a lean patch, was injured off a Trent Boult rising delivery and was seen sitting beside the nets for some time before leaving the field. 
Suryakumar has played eight times in this edition scoring just 74 runs.

IPL betting probe : BCCI ACSU chief says no approach made to players in Kanpur

The Board of Control for Cricket’s (BCCI) Anti-Corruption Unit head, Neeraj Kumar, said on Friday that there was no evidence of IPL team players having been approached in the case involving the arrest of three men in Kanpur over links with an illegal betting syndicate.

Neeraj Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner, made the clarification following speculation that the trio arrested from the team hotel on Thursday had mentioned during police questioning that they had approached a few players.

However, sources said a few players belonging to Gujarat Lions, who next host holders Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Green Park on Saturday, are likely to be asked to clarify their meeting some unknown people before Lions’ match against Delhi Daredevils played on Wednesday.

The arrests have once again brought cricket in Kanpur and Hotel Landmark under the limelight. According to sources, the trio not just managed to book rooms in the team hotel, but also reportedly got their rooms shifted closer to that of the players.

This isn’t the first time such an incident is connected to Hotel Landmark, where cricket teams stay during any major match in Kanpur.

The CBI report on corruption in cricket released in 2000 said it was where then India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin introduced bookie Mukesh Kumar Gupta alias MK to then South Africa captain, the late Hansie Cronje.

According to the report, Mukesh Gupta told investigators that he was introduced to Cronje during the third Test between India and South Africa at Kanpur in 1996. Hotel records show MK had stayed at Hotel Landmark where India and South Africa teams were staying during the Test.

A local police source said things have changed since then. “The modus operandi has changed as bookies now operate through Instagram, Whatsapp and other social media sites to stay in touch with people concerned, but attempts at fixing game remain unchanged even today,” the source told HT on condition of anonymity.

However, it is a challenge for officials to keep track of suspicious activities during the IPL and players too cannot entirely stay away because they have to meet a number of fans and attend various functions while travelling from one city to another as there is a strong entertainment element to the league.